More than 30 of Doss' pupils went on to play at the top college level during his three decades at Butler. Now in his first year at J.O. Johnson, Doss has a top-three team featuring a roster that has a combined zero DI scholarship offers.

That's a surprise, particularly in the case of senior Lionel Love, the lone returning starter from last season's Class 4A state runner-up team.

Doss believes wholeheartedly that Love has the tools to play with the big boys.

Johnson's Lionel Love shoots against Bob Jones during the Huntsville Times Classic last month. (Sarah Cole/scole@al.com)

"He's got a great long-range and mid-range jump shot," Doss said. "He's clutch; he shoots 80 percent from the free-throw line. He's 6-4 and he hasn't filled out yet. He's a great student with a 4.2 GPA."

Love is also versatile, as he has shown in switching from small forward to point guard this season.

"It was hard at first," Love said after Johnson's 50-43 win over Sparkman on Thursday. "I wasn't used to dribbling the ball most of the time and calling plays. But around the middle of the season I got used to it."

Love showed his all-around skills against Sparkman. He shot 5 of 12 from the field to finish with a game-high 14 points, pulled down eight rebounds, and used his long arms to record four steals and two deflections.

"He's come a long way," Doss said. "He's a diamond in the rough for DI because he's only going to get better and better. He's hit two game-winning shots in the last two seconds. He's growing, and that's all I can ask of him. I'm sure a university will come along and see the qualities that he has."

The reason Love has lacked recruiting attention, according to Doss, is because Johnson hasn't turned out many DI players in recent years. He wants to change the mindset of college coaches when it comes to the talent and leadership of Jaguar players.

Love, meanwhile, hasn't given up hope on playing major college ball.

"It's hard at times. I can't really believe it," he said of the recruiting process. "But I'm just doing my best and working hard, and hopefully somebody can come and look at me."